Today we are paying increasing attention to the importance of nature
conservation. Thankfully, owing to the far-sighted pioneers who headed the
National Parks movement, there are now a number of reserves throughout the world
where nature is allowed to reign supreme, and wild life is preserved to be
enjoyed by all. But over large tracts of the world's surface the delicate
balance between man and nature is still being destroyed by industrialization, over-population and the resulting pollution.
Conservation efforts have existed for hundreds of years. Their aim was
always to prevent or control the effects of man's heavy exploitation of a
particular natural resource. This normally took the form of excessive hunting in
an area, which moved some authorities to use their power to counteract the
decimation of animal populations. Sometimes the authority was religious and, to
satisfy the gods, a sanctuary was often proclaimed round a holy place, where
great numbers of different animals could feel secure enough to congregate and
multiply. But the motivation behind early conservation measures was generally
more materialistic. Throughout history, royal courts in many countries have enjoyed hunting
-- a traditional
exercise of skill and bravery -- as the favorite and exclusive diversion of the
nobility. If the hunting was not successful, a "hunting domain" was commonly
proclaimed where, for the peasant, hunting became "poaching" and was a capital offence.
However, it was not until 1872 in the state of Wyoming, that the
first National Park was created as "a public park and pleasuring ground.
for the benefit and enjoyment of the people". This was the famous Yellowstone National Park, whose breath taking volcanic rocks and gorges
still afforded the same magnificent spectacle as in neolithic times, untouched by the hand of man. Its creators wanted to conserve the natural
environment for the purposes of scientific research and for the enjoyment
of visitors. But why was it in America and not in Europe, then culturally
more advanced, that the idea of National Parks was born?
In Europe, the industrial and agricultural revolutions had occurred
gradually. Factories were localized around available energy resources, and
agriculture had developed steadily in harmony with the countryside. In the
United States, technological advance was uniquely different. It was in only.
a few decades that pioneers of exceptional determination and dynamism
invaded immense open spaces whose aboriginal inhabitants had until then
lived in harmony with the environment. The American settlers' penetration was technically more advanced assault than that which had been made
on the European wilderness. The railroads opened up vast new areas for
human habitation which quickly led to large scale deforestation, exploitation of resources and the springing up of factories and towns overnight.
For a time, this expansion was threatened by the desperate resistance of Indian tribes to the waves of colonizers, so the tragic plan arose to
push them further west by starvation. The millions of bison which roamed
the plains and were their principal food source were systematically slaughtered.
Scores of sharpshooters, led by men like the legendary Buffalo Bill, rode the
roofs of railway carriages, massacring entire herds of bison on sight. Such
extermination of wild life dramatically alerted American public opinion to the dangers inherent in the rapid and successful development
of the continent. It was further influenced by George Marsh's book Man
and Nature (1864) describing the problems of the environment, and by a
report written by Frederick Olmsted, Superintendent of New York City's
Central Park, in which he warned that without government interference all
places "favorable to recreation of mind and body" would become private
property, "closed to the great body of the people".
At the end of the nineteenth century, although European countries were more
densely populated than the USA, land encroachment and defacement was a less urgent problem than the social and physical consequences of the rapid growth of cities. In any case, individual appropriation
of land over many centuries had left few vast spaces available to be taken
over "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people". It was in their vast
colonial territories, where there were no such problems and where they
found themselves beginning to repeat the American experience, that countries
like Britain, France and Belgium first followed the American example by establishing National parks in Africa, Asia and Australia. But it was not long before such Parks
-- necessarily often smaller -- were also
established in Europe, until there are today around 1500 all over the world.
The great success of the movement has, paradoxically, led to its
greatest problem as the aims of the original founders are increasingly in
conflict with each other. The great numbers of visitors threaten the very
character of the Parks, and are often incompatible with the needs of
scientific research. This problem is aggravated by greater affluence, increased interest in wild life
stimulated by TV and "green" pressure
groups, and the ever expanding opportunities of relatively cheap travel.
Solutions must be found -- for example, by creating "green areas" where
the strict principles of the movement are modified to allow for large scale
tourism and the pressure is thereby taken off the true National Parks. With
constant care and vigilance, the Parks will continue to play a leading role
in the preservation of our natural heritage.